Begining is the End is the Begining
by TheEclipsed
Summary: What if those of Wonderland came from normal beginings? what if in every one of us is the start of something quiet beautifully mad? Hello Tarrant Hightopp. All characters belong to the creators no copyright infringement intended.
1. Chapter 1: The Mad Hatter of London Hour

Chapter One: The Hatter of London Hour

Winter came to London, cruel and unforgiving. That is how Tarrant saw it with his emerald eyes. His clothes thin and patch-worked with thread bare patches, he barely kept warm, but it was all he had. Tarrant had been born to a family of a drunk and a prostitute. There were just so many mouths to feed it was a daily fight, right now he wandered the streets nursing a bruised wrist from fighting off his father's steely grip when he hadn't gotten out of the house in time when he had woken from his drunken stupor of a nap. He stopped in the mouth of an alley that was sheltered from the wind by its two walls and stack of crates. Looking down in the frozen puddle where he scuffed his feet of his nearly tattered hand me down shoes. He was pale, and looked how he felt, famished and dirty. His orange hair now red with dirt and the lack of the sunlight to shine on it, wild tresses a mess, barely civilized for the fact he had it tied back with the remains of a ribbon.

His eyebrows unkempt, wearing the bowler he had found tossed away, the brim torn. Dark circles of misery and exhaustion under his eyes but he soon looked up hearing chatter. Looking down to the right he found children all in their warm clothes looking into a shop window that was lit up in this late afternoon and early evening whereas the others had long gone home done with their days work. He wondered what could have captured their attention so but he dared not come out of his hiding spot. Looking at his reflection and clothes he shrank into his subconscious that he could always be safe.

The children were soon ushered away from the shop by their parents who seemed to disprove, Tarrant waited a moment to nibble his bottom lip and his fingers rung in the threadbare coat and finally made himself move from his sheltered spot into his cold mean world, making his way to the shop window. Looking within he froze as his emerald eyes lit up in wonder. There were so many teacups and shoes and hats and clothes. All things not normal in the proper society, after all which lord took teacups with fairies and dragons and other assorted strange things. But Tarrant loved them, each one. He heard a noise that tore him from his wonderings and peaked around to see an assistant taking out trash. He cautiously got closer see the door left open, unlocked to him, working on his nerve he pitched himself forward and quietly to slip inside and hid into the nearest thing he could find.

He found clothing closet and hid inside kneeling down and listening, straining his ears as he listened. Yet there was nothing after the assistant came in retrieving his coat and locking up. Tarrant waited till the sound of his own heartbeat threatened to drive his sanity to the breaking point and consume his fragile mind. Cautiously venturing out he gasped as something landed only to see a cat. It looked at him, green blue aluminous eyes full of mischief and knows all wonder. Its stripes streaked in an array only to make the cat seem to be grinning ear to ear like a fool. He settled his storm and looked to see a fluffy white rabbit with a huge cotton tail of white like summer clouds. He gently reached out and hesitated but touched it to find fur softer than anything he had ever felt. Being careful he picked up the rabbit and caressed it. Watching its ears softly slack, the warmth and gentleness of the creature brought a smile to Tarrant he couldn't fight and a feeling of peaceful wonder.

Yet the bunny struggled for a moment and leapt from his arms he panicked. "Wait please!" He hissed in whisper but it fled in bounding graceful hops that he gave chase not paying attention to the direction they were going. But he stopped at a growl to turn and see a young pup bloodhound. He swallowed and backed up into the room more fear gripping him. "Easy Bayard, don't scar cricket he's a guest and a friend and very, very, late for tea." The person speaking turned from their chair set and Tarrant felt his heart leap into his throat.

She was pale like he was but in a clean delicate sense. The woman was not really a woman either she was a young teenage child of fifteen only two to three years his senior. She was tall about five eight to his five six. She had long auburn black hair with red orange streaks, having delicate arched brows. Bangs streaked hair up and yet down. Bearing delicate pins of ornate nature like hatters pins. Ears pierced and more than once which was proper. She had the most bizarre but beautiful eyes he had ever seen they were so blue they looked almost purple. Yet gave the illusion of having gold in them. Her smile was soft and all knowing yet mysterious with soft red lips the center having a pinch of dark rose it gave the illusion of faded pressed roses you found in a photo album.

She had circular glasses the color of purple perched atop her nose at the middle. They had no rims to go behind her ears. She wore clothing of pants that fit yet somehow seemed almost too short showing multicolored stockings, wearing shoes that came up at the back and up her calves like some kind of boots. They strapped around each leg, she had a leather belt that hung sideways off one hip and a sash beneath it. The white shirt bore a corseted vest that laced up, her jacket on the chair. Her arms had leather forearm bracers and it crossed her palms but on almost every other finger was a thimble, thumbs wrapped. One eye had blue and gold the other red and gold. It was all mad yet beautiful. "Hello Cricket." She smiled and tilted her head he felt a twinge of madness in her.

She gestured to the left of her arm sweeping a little he saw a table made and it had food and arrangement of tea cups and tea ready. Other hand extending and awaiting him to take it. He swallowed past his heart and hesitated but reached out and slowly took her hand to feel the warmth and she was very real. He could feel tears start to burn his eyes he rushed and hugged the girl and she giggled not at all confused as if this was normal between them, two strangers, embracing each other.

She helped him to his seat and smiled more putting a silken scarf over his eyes, leaning her lips trace his ear and he felt as if they were silk itself. "I've been waiting for you my Cricket." She pulled the scarf away he found her not there but beside him to the right on the floor with her legs bent as was his own. But he got wide eyes looking down then double checked. "What…?" He breathed in utter shock yet bizarre fascination. He wore dark brown pants that showed off multicolored stripped socks with black brown shoes. His shirt was pale blue and he had vest that was stripped down the back yet checkered in the front. A long brown coat on him the fringes of his shirt white stuck out proudly from the sleeves.

Silk crossed his palms from mesh like gloves and he was very clean. He looked in his reflection of a plate and picked it up to touch his face. He was pale yet but clean, his eyes brighter and his hair clean and brushed it fell straight almost and was a beautiful fire red almost orange. It wasn't wild and a mess he smiled and for the first time in a long time felt his heart swell yet it doubled, he almost found it hard to breathe finally taking awareness of his surroundings. This was the shop; the teacups had changed with oriental designs. The room had sliding doors and it opened that strange woman walked in. He watched them move with grace in clothes that wrapped to the side with silken sashes they seemed to glide with each step they took. Their hands and faces painted pail like delicate porcelain china. Ruby red lips and exotic makeup. Hair up and away from the face with ornate ornaments like the one beside him. Tarrant blushed gently fiddling with what he found was a bow tie of exotic colored circles. Bright colors. Looking up to her he sipped his tea after the geisha served him and shivered but cherished it.

"You said you had been waiting for me, what did you mean by that?" She smiled at that sipping her tea one of the exotic women spoke. "It means you are her other half." She smiled kindly and sat back only for him to nearly spit up tea as she dissolved into flowers and butterflies. In the other seats were a hare, a mouse and a cat. "Of course tha's what she meant!" The Hare chuckled shuffling the plates. The dormouse and cat giggled. "Now now come, be nice to Tarrant." She pouted.

Tarrant stared at this then her blinking innocent emerald eyes. "Ah where have my manners gone dear cricket my apologies. " She gestured to the animals that could suddenly now seem to laugh and talk. "This is Rallymkun the Dormouse," he bowed with a sweeping kneel. "Chessure the Cheshire cat," she giggled and looked to the last. "The March hare." She looked to him taking his hand, "and I beloved cricket am Illillian Creed." She stood taking off her top hat and took a sweeping bow for him. "Hatter at your service, "she giggled. They all giggled it wasn't all sane or making sense.

"Do I get to stay with you then, you said you were waiting for me?" She smiled and leaned to caress his cheek and trace his ear with her lips and his eyes widened at her words. She said….

TBC


	2. Chapter 2: Identity

Chapter Two: Identity

"We are destiny you and I…I'm here to take you home." He frowned and she took him to the door and pulled back the curtain he had to shield his eyes from the filtering sunlight. Only to let it drop and stare, taking a tentative step out into the world that had plants of so many kinds. He swallowed a little barely breathing and gripped his new coat. Green eyes wide with innocent wonder, he ducked though as something passed him over head to see two rocking horses with delicate wings neigh in the air. Bread loafs suddenly moved and broke into flight like butterflies. The Flowers had faces and eyed him back. Turning there was nothing there but a door. On the lower steps was Illillian. She smiled and held out her hand to him. "Come fair loves lets go home, after all your parents are waiting for you."

Tarrant frowned, "my parents, here?" She took his hand and pulled he was up and riding on her back. "Yes of course silly Cricket." She giggled and a bit madly going into the woods she came out the other side to show a carnival or traveling circus perhaps. Yet there were people there, people with hats, hats like hers. A woman with red hair, and bright green eyes, which had blue and purple on the left eye, and violet and red on the left. She had dark purple lips. The dress snug to her form showed off all her charms. "Tarrant! There you are!" She came over and whisked the boy into her arms a man dressed much like Tarrant smiled and put a hat upon his head. "We've been looking everywhere for you. " He chided. "Welcome home Tarrant Hightopp. " He blinked at them, Hightopp wasn't his last name.

He looked to them with that startled confusion. They smiled at him and kissed his cheek and top of his head where the hat didn't cover. "Silly that is you. " They smiled at his confusion and giggled more the whole Hightopp clan gathered around after they put him down and the children took his hand to pull and drag him into play.

A shrill whistle went out as a constable kneeled pulling off broken bits of house that had gone up in fire. The drunken bastard had set it ablaze with his children inside after stabbing the wife. He could only feel heartbreak brushing aside the broken timbers and ashes from a boy's body. Caressing his pale face, his red hair dark as if it were dying embers. His eyes had dark circles and the ragged clothes barely hung to his thin frame. One of starvation and abuse both of the physical and from the weather. He felt sorrow go through him as he caressed the boy's cheek and a tear traced down the man's weathered face. He had seen many things in all his years but never nothing this horrible. He took off his coat and looked down to cover the body of the lost youth that was no more. Tarrant Heatherson was no more. Or was he…

Tarrant played with the children and felt cold sending a shiver down his spine. He broke away from them and searched for Ill and found her and climbed into her lap. "I don't feel so good." She caressed his cheek to smile, "That is because you haven't made your choice. You can go back home to the world up above to your first life…or… you can embrace your new life and start again. Like the butterfly." She smiled and caressed his cheek to the tip of his nose looking at him with those mad crazy eyes. "The question you face is to what path will you choose?" She smiled and moved as he lay against her chest and dug his fingers into her coat with a desperate grip. "Will you be here?" She smiled running fingers through his long red hair. "Of course Cricket. I am the one who's been waiting for you the longest, and one day, if you choose to stay, will be waiting for someone else to arrive to help them." He listened to her heartbeat and felt his own struggling as if a cold ghost was gripping him. "I…I…I...won't to…to…"


	3. Chapter 3: Chosen

**Chosen**

Tarrant woke up to find himself in bed, the sun was rising and he felt warm, nestled into the covers. Only to blink and sit up suddenly. He was in his own room, his own bed, yet not his room or bed. He slid out of the covers and leaned to catch a glance at himself in the mirror. He was in sleep clothes, his hair much longer and such vibrant orange red almost like an ember of fire. His green eyes ablaze with light and flecked with gold, His skin now pale white, cheeks a faded carnation rose under the apple of his cheeks. His lips were rose. The sides of nose going up to the curve of his eyes was a softer violet carnation rose, the left eye had dark red and blue at the top of the eye. The right eye had pink violet and faded to violet at the top. He touched the mirror as if the reflection would change. He blinked and saw his hands that were just as pale.

He went to the closet and opened it curiously to see clothes waiting for him. He chose a white and rose shirt buttoning it up and put on a vest of it was black and had green checkers; the back had green and purple stripes. Taking down a spiraled colored bow tie, and slipping on a black patterned brown pants, with striped socks. Slipping on his shoes and slipped on a velvet blue waist coat jacket and pulled the lace that it proudly stuck out of the arms of his jacket. Regarding himself in the mirror, his eyes looked a bit crazed but he loved it. He took his top hat off the dresser where it sat perched on a hat display. Putting it on, he regarded himself fully and really smiled. He was proud of his looks and cautiously tip toed and leaned out the bedroom door that he opened.

There they were Mr. and Mrs. Hightopp. His parents, his face flushed gently at the thought, and remembering. He realized he wasn't dreaming, not anymore. He rushed out the door and bounded for the woman with red hair and giggled. She returned it to pick him up swinging around the twelve year old. "Good morning dear Tarrant," She kissed his cheek and he got a full breakfast for once…He had chosen Underland.

Tarrant worked his hats in Witzend in his little shop and felt joy at the healed woods. Yes he was the only hatter left but at least the red queen had been dethroned, the white queen once again wore the crown and he had been sleeping more. He did miss Alice though. He looked at his watch and about squeaked in alarm, he was almost late for tea! Maybe this time McTwisp would join them for tea. He walked down the path and smiled to see Mallymkun waiting for him, Thackery would have tea and an assortment of cakes. He was looking forward to seeing his friends.

He paused though in his stride and saw something peculiar, a pale slender hand amongst the white roses. Curiosity burned in him then and approached to push the flowers gently to find a woman. Like Alice she was small, most likely she had drunk Pishalver and shrunk to get through the door. He gently and with care lifted her up and took off his hat to put her inside and carry her to the Tea Party. He could ask all the questions he wanted then.

Gwen ran across the manicured lawn and garden of her cousin's estate, into the thicket of woods, out into an open meadow that she didn't recognize, but she didn't care either. Small birds darted over the tall grass, and hedgerows rose up along the edges. Running as fast as possible, she was running from the doctors knowing better that she should be indoors but she couldn't stand another moment bed ridden. Looking back she didn't see the path curve and she jerked off her feet. Gwen threw out her arms and gave out a startled scream, falling down …a…rabbit hole. Her screams echoed as she tumbled head over heels down the enormously dark hole. She threw out her hands in search of anything she could grab.

Anything to keep her from falling and yet the walls around her were lined with odd things… Things that shouldn't be there, crooked paintings, ancient maps, cracked mirrors, demonic masks, and bookshelves crowded with bizarre paraphernalia. Despite this she grabbed at the first thing that got close and found herself holding a book with blank pages. She was frustrated and terrified, throwing it away from her and tried to grab something else only to grab a – mirror! Gwen grew frantic, scrabbling through object after object, giving another terrified shriek she could only fling the last terrible thing away from her and fell, down and down and even deeper into darkness.

Endless and nothing as if day had become night. Finally after what seemed forever she landed on a hard wooden floor, nearly smacking her head as she hit the ground. "Ow!" she cried in pain as the wind was knocked out of her. Gasping for a moment to get air as she sat up rubbing her bruised arms. She found herself in a circular hall with closed doors all around the room. Getting up she looked around the room first before trying a door, she found it locked. She had nothing left to do but to try the next, and the next, etc. How was there supposed to be a way out if all the doors out of the room were locked? Taking a step back she turned having bumped into something. It was a three-legged glass table, he gave a sharp look around and wondered where it had come from, and it hadn't been there a moment ago. She shivered, this place was confusing.

She looked back at the table and saw a tiny gold key sitting on top of the glass tabletop. Gwen picked it up and turned looking at the doors and walked around the room and traced her fingers along them and saw a curtain that she had thought had been part of the wall paper and pulled it back curiously to find the smallest door she had ever seen outside of a miniature dollhouse. Nibbling her bottom lip she did a final glance around only to there was now a bottle sitting where the key had been on the glass tabletop. She had known for sure that, that hadn't been there. Approaching it as she looked around wondering if someone was in the room with her.

The hall still looked deserted; she squinted at the bottle to read the tiny white label around its neck which said, DRINK ME. She arched a brow at that but figured what was the use in not trying it. She followed the mysterious instructions, removing the top, sniffing the contents of the bottle only to recoil. It smelled bitter, burnt and something else she couldn't identify. She did a final look around the room and sighed shaking her head. "Here goes nothing," she said aloud to herself. Maybe she had passed out and was in the meadow and this was just a dream. Or she could really be stuck down a hole, but nothing terrible could really happen to her right?

Gwen poured some of the drink into her mouth with a shudder, if she thought the smell was bad that was nothing compared to the taste. She coughed, gagging at the horrible taste, only adding to her suspicions that maybe she wasn't dreaming after all. Maybe it was one of the tonics the doctors loved to sneak into her drinks or her food when she wasn't paying attention. Replacing the bottle top she was sure it was a doctor's tonic. Only to glance up then double take, was it just her or was the table getting larger, frowning at it.

It took a few moments but she sudden realized that the table wasn't growing larger she was shrinking! Looking at her hand as she dropped the bottle, staring at them in shock as they got smaller and smaller, looking down she found her body matching it as the world became huge. Finally she was two feet tall; the puddle that surrounded her was her now oversize clothes. In a way that solved the problem about reaching the two foot door but then again now she really was stuck on clothes. Thinking for a moment she sighed and ripped the skirts to wrap them around her in a kind of makeshift dress so to speak. Going to the door she unlocked it and stepped through.

Gwen stepped into a world of the strange, beautiful and unexpected, a garden that one glimpsed in a mirror from far, far away. The garden had flowers and was brown here or there and tangled. Stone statues were littered around the walkways with dead vines and new vices. The fountain no longer glittered with sun-speckled water to one side though the other side of it did. The empty side covered in a creeping green-brown moss.

A noise was on the air, bellowed but sneezed behind her making her whirl around and see the cause. There were green pigs rooting with emerald hooves on their dusty gravel paths. Their curly brilliant green tails bouncing with each step. Eyes falling on a row of flowers that made her jump and back step. Feeling the cold steps beneath her feet, they had human shaped faces, gaunt and haunted faces, as if they were thirsty or sleep deprived, well those not near the fountain. Their eyes stared at her as she past; none of them spoke to her although some of them let their gazes travel slowly across her face, then back down to her clothes and state of dress.

She was paying closer attention now after the shock and could see living things moving all around her. In the air young dragonflies the size of horses were battling with horseflies the size of dragons and many other bigger animals she had never even seen in dreams. They swooped and zoomed toward one another, stinging and buzzing angrily. Claiming their territorial space. The sun showed half hidden by a haze of gray clouds, barely illuminating some of the blue-green bodies of the dragonflies and the iridescent wings of all the battling insects.

She ventured into the woods then found a cat like creature that landed and hissed she bolted. Running and moving through the shrubs moving to stay up wind and crossing the water. Coughing, it was sunset before she stopped and just laid there tired and fell asleep. Tired and worn out, she laid and curled up with the flowers. She didn't even feel when she was picked up and placed inside a warm place.


	4. Chapter 4: The Dame of the Vorpal

**The Dame of the Vorpal**

Gwen woke and blinked to see a hidden path and an extraordinary house. The roof was thatched with thick brown fur instead of straw or even shingles. It had long chimneys sticking out of the top where they made the shape of rabbit ears. The doorknob was a soft white tuft of fur, definitely a rabbit's tail. Rabbit feet even poke up out of the ground in place of a picket fence, she peered at the house only to flinch with the realization that it was peering right back at her. It had large pink rabbit eyes where there should have been windows. She looked around to find the people around her asleep. She was in a large hat that was seated upon a stack of books in a chair. There was a long table that presided over a tea party with only three other guests.

The table gave the look that the party had been dragging on for a very long time. It's tablecloth of white was stained and threadbare. Glimpses of pale wood lay underneath peeking through the holes of the tablecloths pattern. Chairs stood even at lopsided angles, waiting for guests who would possibly never come. None of the tea sets matched each other; in front of a Hare was a blue willowware cup alongside a cracked white saucer and a pale green teapot. The rest of the sets were an odd mixture of cracked pots, chipped cups, with many of them tipped over next to ancient brown tea stains no one had ever bothered to try and clean up.

Slumped in one of these chairs to her right was a pale, morose man. The hat she sat in must have been his; it was a scorched top hat. His threadbare dark velvet coat was hanging lose on his thin frame; his eyes were lined with circles of exhaustion that made the most unique colors. The left had red underneath that faded into a blue at the top of the eye like eye shadow. The right had violet pink at the bottom to fade into a violet purple. She realized the third member of the tea party was a dormouse, but her attention was drawn back to the man. He had flaming red orange hair and wild flaming red orange eyebrows, he had a sort of rose to the cheeks and she was strangely reminded of a china doll in some ways. His lips were a bit on the pink violet side, his shirt collar and shirt was a rose with purple buttons. Tied by a silk bowtie of multi-colored spots. Kind of like drops of spilt paint, his vest was checkered blue like his buttons. He had a brown kind of crushed material jacket, lace stuck out proudly from the cuffs, his hands just as pale.

Some of his fingers seemed stained by dye or even mercury, some of his fingers covered in thimbles; his left thumb was wrapped in cloth. He had cloth gloves that crossed his palms. He had a belt of sorts of spools of string. She watched his silver eyelashes flutter. She kind of didn't want to wake him. She slipped from the hat and walked carefully to the arm of the chair and gently touched his hand. "Um..." She bit her lip. She was afraid to make the man mad. But the man, who was called the Mad Hatter, woke and had another reaction entirely. At the sight of Gwen, he bolted upright, his whole being seemed to brighten. Even his clothes perked up, his bow tie fluffed out almost and his green gold eyes seemed to brighten. Transfixed, he leaned toward her that Gwen couldn't help but shiver, staring at her intently. Tarrant had something in his face that made her anxious for him, she couldn't possibly deserver the delighted look he was giving her.

"Oh!" he cooed. He reached toward her auburn red hair, and then pulled his hand back before touching her. She offered a smile to him and this time he did touch her, seizing her hand and pulling in a slight gesture of shaking hands. "Welcome to Underland!" he cried. He then pulled leading her back to the chair as he placed his hat atop his head. The Hatter plunked her down in the chair next to him that she couldn't help but fidget nervously under his rapt gaze. Without missing a beat Tarrant grinned, "Well, as you can see, we're still having tea," Tarrant explained. "It's all because I was obliged to kill Time waiting for you to wake up. You're terribly late, you know…naughty. Well, anyway."

By now the others had woken up and were moving around and messing with their tea. They didn't ask her anything just seemed to go about their day and it left her more than mildly confused. "Sugar?" asked the March Hare. "Time became quite offended and stopped altogether," the Hatter continued. "Not a tick ever since." She arched a brow, "Raspberry Jam- my favorite!" the Mach Hare interjected. She had to keep looking between the two. "I guess time is odd that way?" she said unsurely. Tarrant gave her an odd look. "Yes, yes, of course. But now you're awake, you see" he hurried on, "and we need to get on with our tea date!"

She just blinked as he seized the Hare's left paw and the Dormouse seized his right, all three of them raised their clasped hands in the air. "TEA DATE!" The Cheshire cat rolled his eyes as he evaporated out of thin air. He was lounging against the rabbit's-foot fence, it occasionally twitched as if it had found the cat's presence rather irritating. She was a bit peeved at all the weirdness. She glanced around again, checking the trees with narrowed eyes. The cat wandered up to the table, sliding into one of the chairs in a graceful, feline way, picking up a teapot with half its spout broken off and poured some tea into a delicate porcelain cup with faded butterflies painted on it.

"Come, come. We simply must commence with the Tea date and such," Tarrant said, leaning forward emphatically. "Therefore, it's high time for Time to forgive and forget! Or forget and forgive, whichever comes first. Or is in any case most convenient. I'm waiting." She found the March Hare tugging on his ears. Thackery had a terrible anxious expression on his face as he peered at his pocket watch, tapping the face; he listened to it for a moment. Then even dared to dunk it into his teacup, pulling it out, he listened to it again. Tiny droplets of tea splattered onto the Hare's furry white chest.

His wild eyes suddenly went wide as he practically bounced in his chair, gasping. "It's ticking again!" The Hatter got the biggest grin, "Ooh!" Tarrant squealed. The cat made a disgusted or annoyed face and set his teacup down. "You always obsess over time when you've got all the time in the world anyway. " The hare didn't seem to hear him as he commented on the teas flavor. "The entire world is endless and poor Chessur's got no care." The Mad Hatter said with thinly veiled hostility. She watched the two as she sat back and could see the cat's tail lash angrily. "The fact that Alice left wasn't my fault!" She jumped as the Hatter seemed to become suddenly enraged. Slamming both hands on the table, the cups and teapots went flying, and Gwen avoided barely getting splashed by hot tea. She pushed her chair with care back from the table, more than a bit alarmed by Tarrant's vehemence. His shadows went from colors to blacks and grays, his hair a dark vibrant red, and the gold bled drowning out the vibrant green.

"You ran out on us and showed up at last minute!" he yelled at the Cat. "You guddler's scuttish pilgar lickering-"His speech disintegrated into wild, furious cursing, although it was all in a language she didn't understand. She could see him as he passed her chair starting to bare down on the cat. "Shukem juggling slunking ur-pals. Bar lom muck egg brimni!" She watched the cat get eyes wider then saucers and his ears slack down. She felt like his rage was going to keep building as the curses flew faster and faster, it was almost as if he couldn't stop himself. She felt like she should do something. "TARRANT!" The Mad Hatter jerked to a stop, suddenly blinking his eyes were back to the way they had been. "Thank you," he said. As if he had been holding his breath, his smile back, "I'm fine."

Mally looked at Thackery and then at Tarrant. "We didn't say it," all eyes went on Gwen and she swallowed. "How did you know my name?" Tarrant asked with a blink, "Um…I…I…d-don't know?" She tried to grin and wished she could have melted and disappeared into the world and just vanish. Swallowing a little more. "Hey what is that?" she blinked and looked to her medallion and was surprised it was still on her on the vine belt she had made. She could use it like a sword. "That's a Vorpal." She frowned, "Um this is the sword medallion of my family that's been in it for generations." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Interesting," the cat looked at the Hatter, "Tarrant don't you have any more cake?" Tarrant seemed to snap out of some thought and rummaged to find some and gave it to her as he picked her up and hid her behind the tree.

She took a bite and shivered to blink and watched herself grow tall again. She had been lucky enough to bite just enough she was maybe just a tad taller then she had been now five ten instead of five seven. Only one problem, she had no clothes. Tarrant peeked only to get eeped at in fright and dodge thrown objects he blushed but giggled. "I beg your pardon." He went to fabric and went to sewing to his delight and gave her over what he had on hand. She came out in pants, and shirt that was tailored, the vest was a corset. Tarrant watched her walk past and grabbed her to move her hair. "What's this?" Mally was on his shoulder and blinked to get wide eyes. "That's a birthmark of the Vorpal Knight!" She blinked as Tarrant yanked her wrist and started to lead her. "Then we have no time to waste, to the white queen!"


End file.
